Thursday, April 26, 2018

Fairfax, VA-- This weekend, on Saturday, April 28th, the Officer Down Memorial Page will host the 7th Annual Officer Down Memorial Ride (ODMR) at the Lion & Bull sports pub in Haymarket, VA. This event includes a 60-mile, self-guided motorcycle ride through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as a full day of live music, police motor demos, food and drink, a vendor row, and a huge raffle with tons of prizes.

Over 600 riders and supporters from all across the country are expected to participate; pre-registrations have already topped 550 and day-of registration is available at the event beginning at 9AM.

The ODMR pays tribute to the 23,000+ police officers who have died in the line of duty in U.S. history and has raised over $100,000 to support ODMP since its inception. Chris Cosgriff, Executive Director of ODMP, calls the ODMR “an inspirational day full of fun, but with the ultimate intent to honor fallen law enforcement heroes. It is a celebration and a remembrance, all centered around a great bike ride.”

The 7th Annual ODMR will begin at 9AM on Saturday, April 28th at the Lion & Bull located at 5351 Merchants View Square, Haymarket, VA 20169.

- # # # -

About the Officer Down Memorial Page

Founded in 1996, the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) is a nonprofit agency dedicated to honoring the memory of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. The largest law enforcement memorial in the United States, ODMP pays tribute to over 23,000 fallen law enforcement officers in its online memorial and reflection pages. ODMP also honors fallen K9 officers, provides free resources to law enforcement agencies and officers, and works to keep cop killers behind bars through its No Parole program. The ODMP database tracks LODD statistics in the U.S. back to 1791, enabling the law enforcement community to analyze trends and patterns in order to work toward the goal of improving officer safety.

Friday, April 6, 2018

In March 2018, a total of thirteen law enforcement officers gave their lives in the line of duty. Of those thirteen line of duty deaths (LODDs), six were the result of gunfire, five were auto-related, one was due to a 9/11-related illness, and one officer drowned.

At the end of March the total number of yearly LODDs stands at 35, which is a 5% decrease over this time last year.

The Officer Down Memorial Page sends our condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death. We encourage our supporters to read the memorials for each of these fallen officers and to share the report in order to raise awareness of line of duty deaths and their causes.